Mayur Dalal: Don't repeat mistakes of Germany

Mayur Dalal (right) guides a German player to perform the human flag aasan of Mallakhamb on pole at Hamburg in Germany last December

Germany-based Mayur Dalal excels in the flexible movements of mallakhamb but even he would not have expected the twists of fate brought about by the global Coronavirus pandemic in his country of work.

Germany is the fifth country after China, Italy, USA and Spain, where over 30,000 cases of Coronavirus have been found. Hamburg-based Dalal, who is Germany's World Mallakhamb Championship bronze medal-winning all-rounder, returned to his hometown, Amravati in the Vidarbha region in the first week of February.

He now wants India to learn from the mistakes made by Germany in dealing with the initial stages of the pandemic. "Initially, the Germans were not serious about this disease and continued to go out and meet people. They felt their medical system is top-notch so the Coronavirus would not affect them. They were wrong. Now, we Indians are also taking this virus very lightly. If things continue like this, and we continue our social gatherings etc, we should also be ready to face the dire consequences that Germany is currently suffering," Dalal, 26, told mid-day over the phone from Amravati on Tuesday.

"When I returned to India in the first week of February, things were quite normal in Germany but Italy saw quite a few Coronavirus cases emerge. Italy had a lockdown and by the second week of March, numerous cases emerged in Germany and only that was when they began to take the Coronavirus seriously," added Dalal, who is also a mallakhamb coach and works as a manager in an event management firm in Germany.

"Later, when the Coronavirus cases increased manifold in Italy, France and Germany, a week later, Indians began taking things seriously. However, we are not taking enough precautions or following the guidelines perfectly like how the Europeans are adhering to the restrictions now," said Dalal, who was preparing and also guiding his German teammates for the second World Mallakhamb Championship to be held in USA in 2021.

Finally, Dalal is hoping for things to get better in Germany in the near future.

"I am hoping that Germany is able to get this virus under control soon and I think they will because they have enough medical equipment to tackle any such emergency. Now, they have also sealed their borders and everyone is strictly following all safety measures there. Earlier, I was planning to return to Germany in May, but now I will postpone things till the situation is back to normal," added Dalal, who has been in Germany for the last eight years.

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